Antibiotic-resistant infections averaged 406 cases each week across England last year, even as overall drug prescribing dropped.
National surveillance data published by the UK Health Security Agency showed a total of 21,129 antibiotic-resistant bacteraemia cases reported in 2025. Wired Gov reported that this figure represents a 16.8% increase from the 18,086 cases recorded in 2019.
Bacteraemia involves bacteria entering the bloodstream and can trigger potentially life-threatening illness. While resistant infections continue to climb, the pace of that increase has slowed down. Cases rose by 3.2% between 2024 and 2025, moving from 20,468 to 21,129. That compares with a sharper 9.3% increase between 2023 and 2024, according to the data.
Health officials warn that reducing prescriptions alone will not solve the crisis. Total antibiotic use in the NHS decreased by 10.7% between 2019 and 2025, dropping from 17.8 to 15.9 defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day, according to Pulse Today. Meanwhile, private antibiotic prescriptions dispensed in community pharmacies declined by 20.8% between 2024 and 2025, falling from 0.61 to 0.48 defined daily doses, as Chemist+Druggist noted.
Vulnerable Demographics Bear the Heaviest Burden
Older adults and economically deprived communities face the highest concentration of risk. Adults aged over 45 accounted for 89.3%, or 19,245, of resistant infection cases in 2025. Almost half of all cases, exactly 49.7% or 10,706 episodes, were detected in people older than 74. The data shows that the risk of infection scales with age due to complex health conditions and frequent exposure to medical interventions.
A persistent gap separates the most and least deprived areas of society. People living in the most deprived communities experienced a 44.2% higher rate of resistant bacteraemia compared to those in the least deprived areas, with 44.4 cases per 100,000 population versus 30.8 cases. The disparity has widened since 2019, when the gap sat at 29%.
Ethnic disparities also emerged in the findings. Resistant bacteraemia episodes accounted for 42.4% of cases in the Asian or Asian British ethnic group, representing 46.6 per 100,000 population. That figure reached 32.8% in the Black, African, Caribbean or Black British group at 45.2 per 100,000, compared with 20.7% in the White ethnic group at 33.9 per 100,000.
Regional Variations Across Integrated Care Boards
Local figures reveal sharp geographic differences in infection rates overseen by Integrated Care Boards. The highest rate appeared in the NHS North West London ICB at 63.3 per 100,000 population. NHS North East London ICB and NHS Frimley ICB followed with rates of 51.1 and 50.8 per 100,000. Conversely, the lowest rate was recorded in the NHS Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland ICB at 27.4 per 100,000.
Preliminary estimates indicate that roughly 53,400 Gram-negative bloodstream infection-related hospital admissions cost NHS hospitals approximately £800 million between 2023 and 2024. Despite these mounting economic and healthcare pressures, deaths among people with resistant Gram-negative bacteraemia held broadly steady at 2,318 deaths in 2025, compared with 2,399 deaths in 2024.
“Every week hundreds of people face a new reality of what it means to get an antibiotic-resistant infection, which can increase the risk of serious illness, and even death.”
Dr Arora added,
“Our most deprived communities and older generations continue to be hit hardest by the effects of antimicrobial resistance, although anyone can be impacted. It is positive to see signs that ongoing efforts to promote responsible antibiotic use are having an impact but there are still significant challenges as resistant infections continue to increase. We can’t rely on reducing antibiotic use alone. We need to continue our work with partners globally to prevent infections from occurring in the first place, alongside exploring new treatment options.”
Path Forward Under the National Action Plan
While primary care prescribers have trimmed consumption—with general practice accounting for 65.4% of prescriptions in 2025—hospital antibiotic use moved in the opposite direction, increasing by 5%.
Ministers emphasize that clinical stewardship must be matched by public cooperation. Pharmacy schemes like Pharmacy First handled over 3 million consultations in 2025/26, marking a 42% increase from the previous year while supplying fewer antibiotics across the infection pathways.
“Infections like these put patients at even greater risk as they are harder to treat and can be life-threatening. While it is encouraging to see antibiotic use in the NHS falling, we know we need to do more to protect everyone, especially older people, and those in the most deprived areas. That’s why I urge everyone to only take antibiotics when advised by a healthcare professional, complete the course and never share or save them. This will help reduce the spread of resistant infections and keep all of us safer.”
said Dame Diana Johnson, Minister for Public Health and Patient Safety.
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